Emotional preparation for teaching: a case study about trainee teachers in England

With the attention that has been given in recent years to emotional literacy and its implications for working practices, this article seeks to contribute to a fuller understanding of the impact of emotions on the personal well-being and motivation of 41 primary (elementary) trainee teachers in a university in the South-West of England. Through a process of reflective writing, respondents describe the way that their emotional state affected their confidence and enthusiasm for teaching. These emotions were both edifying (largely associated with the prospect of being back in school) and enervating (largely associated with concerns emanating from previous school experiences and conforming to a new school situation). Findings indicate that a typology of emotional condition consists of anticipatory, anxious, fatalistic and affirming emotions. The research highlights the impact of emotional condition on trainee teachers' ability to function efficiently and suggests that in a time of rapid change and inc...